Virtual Methodist

I came across this video earlier in the month on facebook, and nearly posted it then given that I saw it against the backdrop of community tensions in Belfast over the flying of the Union flag. But I thought I would hold it over to play in the light of this week's Advent candle theme of "Love." I also do it in the light of the act of thanksgiving for the work of Dundonald Family and Community Initiative  that we are having today in church because it is unfortunately having to close because of lack of funds. There were those who objected to having that as part of this morning's service incase it took the focus off the message of Christmas, but actually, for me DFCI's closure puts the message of Christmas into stark relief...  God so loved the world that he didn't establish a "programme" or "initiative" - he sent his son (John 3: 16). He took on flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood (John 1: 14). There are times when we, as C...

A couple of times this week I've come across this site offering "26 Moments that restore your Faith in Humanity this Year."  Once a fortnight... that's not a bad average... Check it out, it might brighten your day... This year has been a real stinker for me and my family, what with multiple major injuries to Owain, necessitating him having to miss his AS levels and go back a year at school, another football injury to myself which had major complications, DFCI having to wind up because of the lack of funding, resulting in Sally losing her job, never mind the whole stress of the school transfer system for Ciaran... and a few work-related "complications". It will be a real pity if the Mayans were right and the world ends next week, because it wouldn't be a great one to finish on... But against the background of that let me offer 12 glimpses of grace that have helped us through the bumps and grinds of this year... averaging once a month... 1) Th...

This morning I'm off to a meeting with mixed feelings... It breaks my heart that I have to go to it at all, but it is  also a wee ray of hope against a fairly bleak background. The background is created by an economic environment where people are facing mounting debts and are facing the choice of feeding or clothing their families, or heating their homes, and where small charities that have been seeking to help such people, such as our own Dundonald Family and Community Initiative, are having to fold due to lack of sustainable funding. So much for the BIG society... The ray of hope comes in the form of community food pantries... I first came across such ventures in the US on various fact-finding tours including one 5 years ago with a group of church leaders and civil servants under the auspices of CCWA, where we visited programmes in Pittsburgh and Washington DC. Many of us were impressed with what we saw but roundly dismissed the need for such ventures in the UK with our much va...

Last year I said that I would post the weekly responsive Psalms that I regularly draft for use on Sunday mornings, but after a few weeks that petered out because we were using an Advent candle liturgy in the run up to Christmas (and as it was only partly my own work I didn't have the right to post it...) Anyway, I meant to post last week's, and perhaps will in a week or two, but I got swamped last week and am only now coming up for air... But for various reasons I thought I would post this one a day early. It's the annual Service for DFCI (Dundonald Family and Community Initiative) our community outreach programme on Sunday morning, come and join us if you are free... This is the Psalm that their director, Sally, asked for this year: Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, Those whose hope is in the LORD our God, the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them the LORD, who remains ever faithful, ever true. He upholds the cause o...

I don’t know what I’d do without internet search engines these days… When I'm in a hurry I generally use the ubiquitous Google, but if not I use Easyclick, which pushes a fraction of a penny towards our community project DFCI every time I use it. It's a long time since I've used Ask Jeeves , although it was the one I used most at first. A couple of weeks ago I came across an article about the 10 most unanswerable questions on Ask Jeeves … Perhaps my favourite was number three, which is “Do blondes have more fun?” Now, I ask you, who puts that sort of a question into a search engine and expects any kind of an answer… Or at least any kind of any answer which doesn’t lead you to decidedly dubious websites (and no, I haven't tried it). But many of the questions are much more profound. Number 8 asks “What is the secret to happiness?” while 7 is “What is love?” I’d suggest that both of them are tied up with the top two questions, number 2 being “Is there a god?” and, number 1...

This Saturday come sun, rain or snow (you never know here in Northern Ireland, even in September) Sally, Owain and myself are joining together with other friends (and a couple of dogs) to take part in the Slieve Donard DFCI Team Challenge. We'll be walking up (and hopefully down) the highest mountain in Northern Ireland to raise money for Dundonald Family and Community Initiative, the social outreach programme associated with Dundonald Methodist Church. OK, I know, its hardly Everest... but I'm hardly Chris Bonnington! This is by way of celebrating the 10th anniversary of the programmes that grew into DFCI. The previous night we'll be meeting for the AGM (a few months later than planned, but don't get me started on auditors who don't know their job!), and hearing about the work that DFCI has been doing, seeking to support children and their families in the surrounding Ballybeen estate, offering a safe and welcoming space where children and adults alike can make frie...

Just read this report by the National Council for Voluntary Organisations in England, which I presume is the same one reported on the BBC , telling of significant pessimism in the charitable sector in the face of public sector spending cuts. For once we in Northern Ireland are ahead of our friends on the other island as that pessimism has been pervading the community and voluntary sector here in Northern Ireland for some time... And perhaps for more reasons... The squeeze that is hitting English charities will hit us too as the assembly departments and local councils need to find ways of cutting their budgets... and since the recent RPA debacle has shown the reluctance of public sector turkeys to vote for Christmas there is no doubt that in order to retain staff and resources for themselves, they will reduce funding to outside bodies... Even though the community and voluntary sector adds a huge amount of value to any investment (the "voluntary" element obviously allows the de...

Well today at our Easter morning family service I underwent the indignity of weighing myself in front of the whole congregation at the end of my attempt to "Lose Weight for Lent", with sponsorship going to Dundonald Family and Community Initiative and the Methodist World Development and Relief Fund... Some suggested that in order to cut down on weight I should have donned an "mankini" but sense prevailed and no-one was traumatised. But those who have sponsored me (and indeed I myself) were surprised and "delighted" to have discovered that I have lost exactly 1 stone (or 14 pounds for our American cousins) in the course of these past 6 weeks. I had all my excuses ready incase I hadn't lost anything, or (as I feared) had actually put on weight, after making such rash promises... But the emphasis in worship today was not on me fulfilling my promises but Christ fulfilling his promises to rise from the dead... not on the stone in weight that I had lost, but...

I'm not strong on personal discipline. Indeed, in many ways my personal life (including my spiritual discipline) is a shambling mess. Some people may be shocked at a Methodist minister saying that (indeed I AM a disgrace to the memory of our methodical founder John Wesley)... others who know me personally will know that I am merely being honest. The chaos of my life is a relatively creative chaos (most of the time), but it is also exhausting and and unhealthy, physically, mentally and spiritually. So I continually aspire to some sort of order in the midst of chaos... I've given up on those who offer quick-fix, self-help solutions, but am increasingly inspired by those who advocate a re-examination of ancient spiritual practices as a means of bringing order out of chaos, including Brian McLaren in his recent book "Finding Our Way Again: The Return of the Ancient Practice" (the first in a whole series I am led to believe). As I have said in the review of this book in th...

Just incase you can't read the small print... Phone 90489822 for further details... Its part of the madness that is our summer family Fun Week, with activities every day from Monday to Friday for 5-14 year olds. There's a teddy bear's picnic for toddlers on Tuesday evening, and Hullabaloo Theatre Company for the same group on the Wednesday at 10.30am, At the same time on Wednesday the Senior members of our community are invited to a Silk Screen Painting workshop. Seniors are also invited to join us for Coffee, Boccia and Indoor Curling on Friday at 10.30am. Dads and Kids are encouraged to go orienteering on Wednesday night, while the whole family are invited to take part in Its a Knock Out on Thursday night, and go on a bus trip to Carnfunnock on Saturday, before returning for a barbeque back at the church and the finals of the Annual DFCI Soap Box Derby. Everything then comes to a climax in the Sunday morning Family Week Celebration at 11am in the church. After that I'...

On Thursday the First Lady Michelle Obama became what a number of British copywriters called the " First DinnerLady " as she took time to help out at Miriam's Kitchen , a not-for-profit food pantry in northwest Washington DC. It reminded me of the tour I led last year to the US as part of CCWA's "Unlocking the Potential" programme, which seeks to show church leaders what they might be able to do for the local community, taking them to visit faith-based initiatives that are operating in a context where the division between church and state is constitutionally reinforced, unlike here where there is much more opportunity for collaboration between the faith and public sector. I led a team to Pittsburgh, while my colleague led one to DC. Both teams visited programmes similar to Miriam's Kitchen, and both were amazed by what they did, as well as by the need for such programmes in the richest nation on earth. We all reflected that inspiring though they were, th...

Whilst my "brethern" were walking the highways and byways of the traditional routes of Northern Ireland on Saturday, I was sitting on my backside looking after the boys at the "parsonage" of Faith UMC in Grand Rapids, because Saturday was a "ladies day" over here. Sally was speaking about her work with Dundonald Family and Community Initiative at a United Methodist Women's event in the morning, and then attended a "Life Party" in the afternoon. For the uninitiated a "Life Party" is another term here for a baby shower. Anyway, I asked Sally if she wanted to post any reflections here as in a "guest slot" but she declined, saying that there wasn't anything extraordinary to report... Except, that is, for the big question she was asked after her presentation in the morning... After speaking about the difficulties and the delights of working in a community development programme in Ballybeen she opened the floor to questions....